Iraq conflict: Readers split on U.S. involvement

When U.S. President Barack Obama authorized airstrikes against ISIS militants last week, he emphasized that the operations would be "limited in scope," and would not involve sending troops back to Iraq.

A few members of the CBC Community were eager to tackle that question in the comments of our analysis.

"To be honest I think it's a bit of both," said BradNB. "Many are tired of it, especially with seeing to lasting results. Trying to turn someplace into a democracy overnight doesn't work. When an election results in violence, it means the population doesn't believe in democracy yet. If they can't respect that their side lost and submit to the will of the majority, they don't get it.

"On the other hand, many do believe in just leaving other countries to their own devices no matter what. Many don't give a second thought to innocents caught in the crossfire unless those innocents are Americans."

Another commenter though it was just the opposite: neither, rather than both.

"We aren't isolationist or war-weary," said Livia. "We are exhausted seeing our tax dollars drained into another fruitless war while the deadlocked Congress cannot pass a single bill except improving veterans' benefits... Iraq is a quagmire we cannot solve. We lost 10 years there under W. We don't want to go back and with good reason."

On Twitter and Facebook, we presented the view of an American veteran of the Vietnam War as a way to get the conversation going.

"We've lost enough lives; let them kill each other" @markgollom, @fitzpatrick_m gauge U.S. views on #Iraq http://t.co/c4k0oQOEmf Thoughts?CBC News Community

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Some people agreed with Mel Gomez, pictured here.

Lots of vets will say/do say the same thing.Its always some civie that never has and never will join the military that jumps on the pro-war bandwagon.Iain Mac

He's right. Interference is not about actually helping the people of the country in question, it's more related to protecting business interests and sources of profit.Rose Greenwood

"I understand Mr. Obama for not wanting to send troops in Iraq. History tells us that when a dictator gets removed in the middle east, it creates chaos and secterian wars which makes life exceedingly worse than it was under the dictator. So the end result is total failure plus tremendous loss of life and waste of a trillion dollars," said adminhost.

War weary or war Aware? Some wars are necessary, most are purely political. When people become aware of the political nature of war they are less likely to be willing to lay down their lives or risk the lives of their loved ones for the war. People are usually only willing to do this when they feel the cause they are fighting for is noble.... politics of conquest and someone else's profit isn't worth dying for.Josanne L

A few people wondered why responding to violent extremism seems to always fall to the Americans.

"Why must it always be up to the United States? Why isn't the world up in arms about these attrocities and doing something to stop them? How many genocides before the UN finally gets it together?" said Oghma6.

@CBCCommunity @CBCNews @markgollom @fitzpatrick_m Weary. Where's the UN? Where's the leadership in Iraq-waiting for others to do their job.Ava Gibbons

There were many in the comments on all our platforms that disagree with Gomez's take on U.S. involvement in Iraq, and defended Obama's decision to get involved.

It would be a truly vile thing to let ISIS take over Iraq, especially when it could be avoided by targeted air strikes. This engagement is not the Vietnam War.Michael Gaudette

That's exactly the problem! If we leave them alone ISIS etc will grow and be on our soil killing us! Doing nothing is dangerous!Carol Mitchell

Americans can't sit by while ISIS murders innocent people because of their religious beliefs in an attempt to establish a world-wide caliphate. These Islamic terrorists are intent on destroying the Middle East and Israel. Next, they'll set their sights on North America. The Obama administration made a huge blunder by pulling out of Iraq leaving the power vacuum to be filled by terrorists. Now is the time to stop them once and for all.Andrew Moore

And several people voiced a variation on that opinion, saying that the U.S. has a responsibility to act in Iraq because the chaos there is their responsibility.

"Obama is making the best of a really bad situation. Iraq and Syria will be a mess for a generation because of the U.S. invasion and very bad decisions made under the Bush administration. There is nothing the U.S. or anyone can do about it now. It's much easier to destroy a nation than build one," said Guy Souriandt.

"Iraq is in shambles because America destabilized it and then a new administration came into power and America abandoned Iraq, creating the perfect environment for civil war. To now sit back and wash your hands of it and say this is Iraq's problem is the epitome of irresponsibility," said Roderickoooo.

@CBCCommunity @CBCNews @markgollom @fitzpatrick_m Regime change caused this mess. The US has a responsibility to fix what it broke.Alan L O'Brien

"The U.S. invasion of Iraq and its destruction is the main reason for the success of ISIS. The infrastructure has been destroyed, American puppet regime installed, the middle class has fled to neighbouring countries and created a paradise for religious fundamentalists. Before the invasion Iraq was stable, secular and enjoyed a good quality of life. Iraq's only crime was it had oil the U.S. wanted," said Diefenbaker.

Thank you for all your responses to our article. We love hearing your take on these important issues.

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